Poverty and Inequality

Supreme Court to hear care workers' case in £400m Mencap sleep-in battle

18.02.19: Low-paid social care workers have won the right to appeal against a decision not to pay minimum wage to carers performing ‘sleep-in’ shifts following a ruling by the Supreme Court. The decision means social care workers will be...

Mother appeals to Supreme Court after Birmingham City Council declared her ‘intentionally homeless’

04.02.19: Birmingham City Council is being taken to the Supreme Court by a woman who claimed she was forced into homelessness by the council. The mother-of-four was declared “intentionally homeless” after the city council said she should...

Scottish councils given powers to raise tourism and council taxes as government gets budget backing for ‘triple tax bombshell’

01.02.19: The Scottish Government has paved the way for councils across the country to raise taxes after the SNP brokered a deal with the Green Party, also allowing for a new levy on tourists to be introduced in what one MP called “triple tax bombsh...

Northants given special dispensation by government to raise council tax by 5%

30.01.19: Northamptonshire County Council has been given permission to raise council tax by 2% more than permitted at any other council to help it balance its books amid financial turmoil. Unveiling the final local government finance settlement, comm...

Liverpool mayor calls for council funding review as report reveals austerity cuts are ‘singling-out’ northern cities

28.01.19: Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has called for an urgent local government funding review after a new report revealed that austerity cuts have “hit hardest” in councils and communities in the north. Centre for Cities’ annual r...

Deal struck in historic 12-year equal pay dispute with Glasgow City Council

18.01.19: An agreement has been reached over the long-running and bitter dispute over equal pay at Glasgow City Council, which will see thousands of female council workers receive pay-outs worth an estimated £500m. Unions and legal representati...

Kensington and Chelsea RBC commits £50m to Grenfell survivors alongside new recovery strategy

11.01.19: Kensington and Chelsea Royal Borough Council has agreed to put £50m funding into recovery services for those worst affected by Grenfell fire over the next five years. An overarching Grenfell Recovery Strategy has also been approved by...

Nottingham council to rollout ultra-low energy homes using Dutch model to half energy bills

08.01.19: Nottingham has become the first city council to pioneer the “Energiesprong” initiative which has upgraded the energy efficiency of thousands of homes in the Netherlands and will aim to cut UK tenants’ energy bills by half. ...

Wrexham councillors defend delay to homeless shipping container plans

03.01.19: Wrexham council have defended plans to house rough sleepers in shipping containers after the project was delayed until after Christmas.  Four converted shipping container units were due to open in time for Christmas, but senior members...

Councils ‘ripped off’ by private landlords spending £1bn on homeless accommodation

02.01.19: Private housing providers are “ripping off” struggling councils as new figures show that local authorities’ spending on temporary accommodation for the homeless has risen to almost £1bn. Growing numbers of homeless a...

Brokenshire to implement all Grenfell recommendations after ‘painfully slow’ progress at council to date

19.12.18: The government will implement all recommendations on combustible cladding, including a tougher regulatory system for building safety, after a taskforce found that both the pace of change at Kensington and Chelsea council following the Grenfell f...

Brokenshire launches 11 homeless hubs to fight rough sleeping in England

18.12.18: James Brokenshire has announced the creation of a new network of rough sleeping hubs, with £5m committed to the scheme to help provide thousands of vulnerable people with specialist support to recover from life on the streets. Eleven...

National Social Value Conference 2018: Going upstream

17.12.18: PSE’s Daniel Broadley reflects on the key messages to take away from this year’s National Social Value Conference, which took place on 20-21 November in Manchester. If you’re born into the bottom 10% of society in terms of...

‘Ongoing hidden scandal’ as hundreds of children go missing from local authority care

17.12.18: Hundreds of trafficked children under the care of local authorities in the UK last year have reportedly gone missing, according to new research from charities. The report, seen by the Observer, shows that of the 1,015 children reported by l...

Councils must set out rough sleeping strategies by 2019 or face government action, Brokenshire warns

10.12.18: All councils must publish detailed rough sleeping and homelessness strategies by winter 2019 or face government intervention if they fail to do so as part of the government’s new road-map to end rough sleeping by 2027. James Brokenshi...